


This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper

by orphan_account



Series: Multiamory March 2016 [23]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, Multiamory March
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 16:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6335962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Multiamory March Day 23.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper

They’ve won, but the quiet is disturbing. The enemy has been defeated, but Pepper isn’t sure there is anything left, and the silence horrifies her. She thanks the god she doesn’t believe in that Maria and Natasha are still beside her, but she wonders if they are completely alone now. 

She’s been fighting alongside them thanks to Extremis for some time now, but she hadn’t expected to be swept up into something on this scale so soon. An entire city has been destroyed, and if Pepper thinks about it too much, she’ll break. So she stands there, staring at the rubble, completely shell shocked. 

Natasha and Maria’s hands find hers, and she tries to focus on that. They seem to be doing better than she is, but they’ve seen more horrifying things than she has. She supposes this is her trial by (literal) fire. 

“We did what we could,” Natasha says, her voice flat. Pepper can see the other members of the team picking themselves up from the rubble, and it looks like the team are the only survivors. It doesn’t seem fair that they survived and so many people died, and Pepper isn’t sure how she’s going to be able to live with this. 

They head back in silence, and Pepper feels like she can’t speak. She’s wordless once they get back to their quarters, feeling nothing but numbness. They sit down on the bed together, and Pepper holds Natasha, knowing that Natasha always feels these kinds of losses worst, even if she doesn’t say so out loud. Every time she can’t save someone, it eats away at her, and she’s told Pepper she fears she can never atone. 

Sometimes, they aren’t heroes. Sometimes, they are only people, doing the best they can, and Pepper feels a vulnerable, raw sort of humanity today. It’s all too apparent to her that she could have lost Maria and Natasha today too, so she holds them as tight as she can, praying they survive whatever’s next. 

“We’ll be okay,” she says, trying to be the one to reassure the others this time. She only hopes she can believe her own words. 

 


End file.
